For nearly 50 years, my family has owned property along Hood Canal, an off shoot of Puget Sound, looking out to the Olympic National Park. The idea of building another structure to compliment the 1930's cabin has been discussed for decades as a way to expand the opportunity for our extended family to use the property.
One day last April I was exploring the upland forest when my 6 year-old daughter and I started talking about tree forts and zip lines. With my work as a sustainability consultant, I immediately started thinking about how we could fulfill the desire to build another structure on the property and use the principles of Low Impact Development and net zero energy/water. The impact of putting in a road and foundation in the pristine upland area of the property would be significant, but carrying in materials and building a suspended structure would be both gentle on the natural environment and a thrilling challenge.
So explorations began. Over the next few months I investigated sites, drafted and redrafted plans, researched the basics of building a habitable treehouse, and got thoroughly inspired in the process. In June the majority of the family came out for a weekend at Hood Canal to do some annual maintenance and we collectively explored the idea. It was met with both interest and skepticism, mostly about the feasibility and how it might change the use and feel of what has remained virtually unchanged for 50 years. In my mind it is progress and helping to build our future legacy on the property in a responsible and environmentally sensitive manner.
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